Stanhope and Mitsui Fudosan have been selected to bring forward one of London’s most valuable development sites, which could result in a £1bn research hub.
The British Library has selected the partners to bring forward a 2.8-acre site adjoining its Grade I listed building in St Pancras, N1.
The site, thought to have the potential for between 600,000 sq ft and 700,000 sq ft of commercial development, will include a 100,000 sq ft headquarters for the new Alan Turing Institute and an expansion of the British Library.
The library expects to receive a capital receipt and ongoing rental income to reinvest in public services in exchange for a long lease of up to 150 years.
Dependent on the exact make-up of what is ultimately developed on the site, it is expected to have an end value of between £800m and £1bn.
The partners have been chosen following an OJEU process, run by Deloitte, which kicked off in August last year. The process is also understood to have attracted initial interest from Exemplar and Oxford Properties.
The Alan Turing Institute is a new computer science research facility named after the World War II Enigma codebreaker, which is being established by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council. Located at the heart of the Knowledge Quarter launched by former chancellor George Osborne in 2014, the site has been earmarked for additional research, learning and gallery spaces. It is adjacent to the new Francis Crick Institute, which will be home to 1,500 scientists.
While the site is owned freehold by the British Library, the Greater London Authority along with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, wants to prioritise space for life sciences occupiers.
The Knowledge Quarter is a partnership of more than 50 academic, cultural, research, scientific and media organisations based in King’s Cross, Euston and Bloomsbury.
A British Library spokesman said: “The British Library board has selected its preferred development partner and we expect to make an announcement in early 2017, to be followed by a period of close consultation with our local community and other stakeholders.”
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